Da Mistura appealed to Turkish authorities “to allow the flow of volunteers at least, and their equipment to be able to enter the city to contribute to a self-defence operation”, and then indicated that they should send in ground forces “to support the deterrent actions of the coalition through whatever means from their own territory”.

General John Allen, President Obama’s envoy in the campaign in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State, has begun critical meetings in Ankara with Turkish officials.

The discussions on Thursday and Friday have been spurred by the Islamic State’s offensive on Kobane, the Kurdish center in northern Syria on the Turkish border, and by Turkey’s proposals for military intervention with “safe havens” and use of its bases by foreign forces — provided the aim of removing the Assad regime is included with operations against the Islamic State.

Rather than accept the proposals, US officials have been preparing to blame Turkey for the fall of Kobane. Through leaks to the media, they have derided Ankara for not sending ground forces into the Kobane area — even though Syria’s Kurds have said they will only accept Turkish troops as part of an international force — and dismissed the idea of the buffer zone, let alone support of Syrian insurgents to face regime forces.

Little information was released about Thursday’s discussions, but the initial signs are not positive. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki put out the ritual statement that Allen, accompanied by senior Department official Brett H. McGurk, “emphasized that urgent steps are immediately required to degrade the Islamic State’s military capabilities and ongoing ability to threaten the region”.

Psaki added that the Americans stressed that strengthening the “moderate” Syrian opposition “is crucial to any realistic and lasting political settlement of the Syrian crisis”.

The reluctance of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to do more to fight the militants has exasperated many American officials, who see Turkish tanks positioned on their side of the border, while Kobani, a Syrian Kurdish city, faces a massacre if American-led airstrikes fail to stall a militant offensive.

Video: Jabhat al-Nusra Claims Defection of Lebanese Soldier

The Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra claims that a Lebanese soldier has defected to it.

The soldier, who worked at Beirut Airport, says in the video that he joined the group because of his opposition to the actions of Hezbollah:

Insurgents Repel Regime Assault on Key Town of Morek in Hama Province

Insurgents have repelled another regime ground offensive on the key town of Morek, on the main highway from Hama to Aleppo.

Syrian forces attacked and briefly occupied a former tank battalion base, but it was soon recaptured by insurgents soon after.

Meanwhile, insurgents, led by the faction Ahrar as-Sham, have claimed villages elsewhere along the Hama-to-Aleppo route. The advance threatens to cut off supplies to regime forces in Aleppo city, divided since July 2012.

Commander: Free Syrian Army Brigade in Kobane Melts Away Because of Lack of Support

Abu Saif, the commander of a Free Syrian Army brigade in Kobane, says the unit has been crippled by lack of support: “We had 1,250 [fighters], but now the force is down to 300 only.”

The commander of the Raqqa Revolutionary Brigades explains, “We had to turn away a lot of these guys because we could not feed them or provide them with ammunition. So we sent some of them across the border to Turkey to take jobs there.”

Speaking with NOW Media, Abu Saif said that the Free Syrian Army initially fought against Kurdish militias but there was a cease-fire, brokered by the faction Ahrar as-Sham, after the Islamic State took over the city of Raqqa last year:

We reached out to the Kurds and we became friends….The [Kurdish militia] YPG were fighting Daesh [the Islamic State], so we were forced into an alliance with the YPG. We had nowhere else to go. Daesh were surrounding us on all sides, except of course behind us was the YPG. As the Arabic proverb goes, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.

Video: More Than 20 People Killed by Regime Airstrike in Damascus Suburb of Erbeen

A regime airstrike on a market in the Damascus suburb of Erbeen killed more than 20 people on Thursday.

The aftermath of the attack (Warning — Graphic Images of Wounded, Including Children):

About The Author

Scott Lucas is Professor of International Politics at the University of Birmingham and editor-in-chief of EA WorldView. He is a specialist in US and British foreign policy and international relations, especially the Middle East and Iran. Formerly he worked as a journalist in the US, writing for newspapers including the Guardian and The Independent and was an essayist for The New Statesman before he founded EA WorldView in November 2008.